IT, healthcare and finance are proving to be a bright spot for job seekers, with new data revealing workers in these sectors have never been in greater demand.

As hundreds of thousands of people are left without work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysis from LinkedIn reveals these three industries are bucking the trend.

Hiring activity in software services and IT is up 17.3 per cent, healthcare 12.6 per cent and finance 10.3 per cent.

Healthcare is among just three industries that have had a rise in job ads on LinkedIn. Justin McManus

LinkedIn talent solutions senior director Adam Gregory said there were "pockets" in hiring activity as some sectors, such as healthcare, experienced a rise in demand or in the case of finance and software, were more likely to have jobs that could be done remotely,

But for other sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to hit job opportunities hard – none more so than education, which saw hiring activity fall 25.6 per cent between February 10 and March 19.

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The fall was likely due to travel bans affecting foreign students being able to return to Australia, said Mr Gregory.

Recruitment in tourism and retail has also taken a hit, with hiring activity in consumer goods down 11.7 per cent and recreation and travel down 10.8 per cent.

Hundreds of thousands of workers have been stood down or laid off as the virus thrusts dozens of industries into turmoil.

Overall, hiring rates have dropped from an already below average 0 per cent to -2.8 per cent since March 19 when the government began tougher lockdowns on business and travel. The analysis looked at the year-on-year changes in the hiring rate, which is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership.

"I'm sure there are a lot of positive sort of sprouts that have come as a result of this, but it's pretty early to tell I think given we're so new into this situation here in Australia."

The most common job postings were for customer service advisers, customer success managers, business development managers and sales development representatives.

Employers are going to have to make difficult decisions as they navigate choppy waters in the months ahead, according to Michael Michalandos, head of employment and compensation across the Asia-Pacific region for Baker McKenzie.

"It's been quite dramatic and we're finding a lot of organisations are putting in contingency plans if they have to reduce costs to save their businesses," he said.

Some were canvassing alternative, softer options such asking employees to take annual leave, but that depended on awards and contracts; temporary shutdowns, salary cuts or axing bonuses, he said.

Expert advice for getting ahead in the new world of work left by COVID-19

Natasha Boddy is Work & Careers reporter with The Australian Financial Review. She was previously a homepage editor and online producer. Connect with Natasha on Twitter. Email Natasha at natasha.boddy@afr.com

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